Earth Day 2022: Zomato announces 100% plastic neutral deliveries
As an Earth Day preset, food delivery platform Zomato announced 100% plastic neutral deliveries from this month onward. The company has also set a target of delivering more than 10 crore orders in sustainable packaging. Last year, Zomato launched the 'Climate Conscious Delivery' initiative which funded local environment projects to offset its carbon footprint. It also plans to have an all-electric fleet by 2030.
Why does this story matter?
The food delivery market in India is expected to be worth $12.8 billion by 2025. In 2020, it was worth $2.9 billion. These valuations tacitly speak about the enormous amount of packaging material, which is mostly plastic, that comes into our hands. Zomato's initiative to voluntarily recycle plastic is not just environment-friendly but also reasonable, as plastic is still the cheapest packaging material around.
Waste management organizations will partner municipalities to collect plastic wastes
By going 100% plastic neutral, Zomato has committed to voluntarily recycling all the plastic used in the packaging of an order. It has already begun collaborating with ISO-certified plastic waste management organizations. These organizations will partner with municipalities to collect and responsibly process plastic wastes. The company also aims to work with various stakeholders to make food delivery a sustainable and environment-friendly process.
What's good for the planet is good for business: Zomato
"From now on, every meal you order through Zomato will be 100% plastic neutral," said CEO Deepinder Goyal. Regarding the financial aspect of the initiative, he said, "I strongly believe that what's good for the planet is good for business. I also believe that profits happen when you do everything else right. And this is surely a step in the right direction."
Zomato has set 'not cutlery required' as the default option
In 2021, Zomato launched the 'Climate Conscious Delivery' program that helped local environment projects to counterbalance the carbon footprint of its packaging and delivery. The company has made 'no cutlery required' the default option, which in turn has considerably reduced the amount of cutlery sent out. As a part of the EV100 initiative, it aims to have a 100% EV fleet by 2030.
